When you think of a tradesman, most likely the image of a carpenter springs to mind. Or a bricklayer.Or a plasterer. Or a plumber. Or someone else with a well-paid and rewarding career - blacksmith, anybody?
And of course, that somebody doesn't necessarily have to be male these days, either. There are plenty of female stonemasons and carpet-fitters out there. The one thing all these trades - and others too many to list here - have in common is that they've all got their own distinct career path and prospects.
Now, if you're thinking of a future in a particular trade, then you'd be well advised to look into an apprenticeship: you'd be getting paid to train with people who love what they're doing for a living (and how many people are lucky enough to be able to say that?) while receiving the work experience employers are looking for these days.
You'd be in the workplace most of the week, but there will be one or two days when you'll be back in the classroom again learning the theory behind that trade, so you can go back and put it into practice at work later on.
As an apprentice, legally speaking you'll have the same employee rights as your fellow workers, so that would include paid sick leave, holiday pay and other workplace right people expect, and depending on your age you could be earning an hourly wage of £3.30 upwards (2016 NMW).
That's the legal minimum apprenticeship wage set by the government, but many employers choose to pay more than that, so you could, then, find yourself earning the average apprenticeship wage of around £170 a week.
By law, now, an apprenticeship has to last for at least twelve months, but depending on the trade you're planning on going into, you could find yours lasting for as long as three years. But before you think that's an awfully long time to spend training for a career, don't forget that in many cases apprentices who stick with their training all the way through are offered a permanent (and better-paid) position with the company they've been with for all that time.
And even if that doesn't happen and they find themselves out in the job market, they've got a much better chance of being employed than someone who's just spent the previous few years at university, who won't have gained the wealth of work experience offered by an apprenticeship.
Tempted?
Here are just a few tips, then, to help you decide whether working in one of the trades is right for you:
Do you really have the right skill set for the trade you're considering? Maths, for example, and geometry can be essential for some of the more design-oriented occupations
Will your chosen trade still be viable in years to come?Will it see you through to retirement age, or will it be superseded by something else before then?
Would you be able to strike out on your own after a few years, or would you prefer the security (such as it is these days) of being on somebody's payroll?
And probably most important of all, will you still love what you're doing much further on down the line?
